Mechanic socked with drugs possession charge after festival

POLICE busted a River Sessions attendee with four MDMA capsules secreted in his shoe, secured in place by a condom.

Jacob Smith was one of two men who pleaded guilty in Mackay Magistrate's Court yesterday to possessing drugs at last month's festival.

Smith, a 29-year-old mechanic from Glenella, garnered unwanted attention from police after a sniffer dog gave a positive indication for drugs outside Queens Park.

When police asked Smith whether he had drugs, he admitted that he had some in his shoe, and took of his shoe to reveal a condom over his foot with a clipseal bag containing four MDMA capsules.

"If you want to continue to fiddle with drugs you can come back and expect more severe penalties,” Magistrate Damien Dwyer said as he issued a $450 fine. No conviction was recorded but Smith was ordered to undertake a drug diversion program.

The other man, 23-year-old Mackay DJ Raymond Mariano, was found with a single dexamphetamine - a commonly abused prescription drug - tablet in his bag.

He pleaded guilty to a single charge of unlawful possession of controlled drugs. The court heard that police took note of Mariano avoiding drug detection dogs as he went to enter the festival. The pill was found loose in his bag.

Mariano told police at the time that the tablet was used to help him focus, and admitted to not having a prescription for the drug.

"There were enough advertisements that police were going to have sniffer dogs there,” Magistrate Dwyer said.

"You knew you had to get caught didn't you?” he asked.

"I was wearing some pretty bright clothes,” Mariano admitted. "Well you're allowed into the festival with pretty bright clothes on but not this drug,” Magistrate Dwyer said.

Mariano was ultimately handed a $500 fine, with no criminal conviction recorded.